NOTE: I am a fan of 30-day challenges, and November is traditionally a time of two: National Novel Writing Month, and 30 Days of Thanks. As I am not a fiction writer, this year I have chosen to publish a daily blog for the entire month, expressing my gratitude. This may not be entirely food-focused, but expect recipes aplenty. Feel free to join me in the comments below. What are you thankful for today?

So I teach yoga at various places around town, and as fits my training and predilection, I am interested mostly in teaching teenagers. They are my kind of people.

Today I am thankful for my two classes at the Baltimore Homeschool Community Center in Pikesville.

These people make Mondays pretty cool. Today I threw some fairly next-level yoga at my older class, and they all gave it a try. And I dragged both classes along on my monthly planking challenge; both classes wanted to go for two minutes, so I wandered around and adjusted everyone for the first minute and then did my own planking for the second minute. #DontRushMe #ImStillAtAMinute

And that’s one of the things I like most about teenagers. If they know you are on their side and that you are just as confused as they are sometimes, like if you are actually willing to say it out loud, then they are with you and will try (mostly) anything.

Yes, teenagers can be horrible, but A) so can adults, and B) most of the horrible-ness is with teenagers related to you, which means I can truly enjoy someone else’s teenager.

So, to my students at BHCC, I say today, thank you. Thank you for your effort, your honesty, your curiosity, your willingness to try. Thanks for laughing at my dumb jokes.

And to the wonderful people who are running the school while still teaching/parenting their own children, thank you for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to hang out at the center. Y’all are my kind of people.

What are you grateful for today?